Jordan
United States United Kingdom Syria South Korea Saudi Arabia Russia Qatar Palestine Pakistan Mexico Malaysia Lebanon Kuwait Kosovo Israel Iraq India Vatican City Greece Egypt Denmark China Chile Brazil Armenia Brunei Belize|National sport = Football|National food = Mansaf}} Description Appearance Jordan wears a Burqa with a sweater, jeans, and brown plain shoes. Personality Jordan is chill most of the time, and pretty indecisive. He is Islamic but cannot for the life of himself choose whether he wants to be on good terms with the west and lose relationships with his Islamic neighbors, or vise versa. Interests Jordan likes burqas and architecture. Flag meaning Nicknames * Jordie Origin of the language The Arabic Language has been around for well over 1000 years. It is believed to have originated in the Arabian Peninsula. It was first spoken by nomadic tribes in the northwestern frontier of the Peninsula. In fact, Arabic, means “nomadic.” Arabs (aka nomads), from which the word Arabic is derived, primarily occupied the area between Mesopotamia to the east to the Lebanon mountains in the west, to the Sinai in the south, and from northwestern Arabia to the Sinai in the south. Arabic is a member of the family of Semitic languages. It is specifically a northern Semitic language. Other past Semitic languages included Akkadian also in the north, Hebrew, Aramaic and Syriac to the east and west and Abyssinia to the south. Today, Arabic is the widely spoken Semitic language. Some other native Semitic languages spoken today include: Hebrew, Aramaic, Kurdish, Amharic (spoken in Ethiopia), Tigre (spoken in Eritrea) and Berber (spoken in Morocco and Algeria). Some Semitic languages have either gone extinct or have become greatly limited because of the spread of the Arabic language. Phoenician, the ancient language of modern day Lebanon no longer exist and Coptic, which the dominant language of Egypt is now only spoken in the Coptic Church. The spread of the Arabic language occurred as a result of various nomadic tribes traveling out of the Arabic Peninsula. The inter-marriage between Arabs and native people groups further spread the language as well as give rise to further Arabic dialects. Rapid growth of the Arabic language happened as a result of the Islamic Conquests that took place in the 7th century C.E. Through these conquests, the Arabic language made its way into Northern Africa, the Iberian Peninsula (the Middle East) and east into modern day China. The Arabic language is unique as it technically comprises of multiple varieties, but is commonly classified as one language. As a single language, Arabic is one of the six most spoken languages in the world, comprising more than 400 million speakers. If it is considered a set of different languages, EGYPTIAN ARABIC would be the most widely spoken variety of Arabic. Much of what is known of written, classical (or old) Arabic comes from the events recorded in the Qur’an, the holy book of the Islamic faith. These events are said to have occurred around the 7th century C.E. Prior to the Qur’an, much of the Arabic language was spoken. The Qur’an has served as the basis of the Arabic language to this day. In recent years, the term Modern Standared Arabic (MSA) has come about. MSA is almost identical to the classical, formal Arabic of the Qur’an, with the exception of the addition of modern words and some differences in grammar constructions. MSA is the most common form of Arabic and is the variety taught in schools and colleges and is most commonly used in the workplace, in government and in the media. Over the centuries of its existence, the Arabic language has adopted words from other languages including Hebrew, Aramaic, Persian, Greek, English and French. It has also influenced other languages as well including Turkish, Bengali, Hindi, Indonesian and Tagalog. Etymology Jordan takes its name from the Jordan River which forms much of the country's northwestern border. While several theories for the origin of the river's name have been proposed, it is most plausible that it derives from the Semitic word Yarad, meaning "the descender", reflecting the river's declivity. The name Jordan can refer to several things. The origin of the name is Hebrew ירדן (Yarden), meaning "one who descends" or "to flow down". The form found in Western names comes from its Greek form Ἰορδάνης (Iordanes). History Jordan occupies an area rich in archaeological remains and religious traditions. The Jordanian desert was home to hunters from the Early Paleolithic Period; their flint tools have been found widely distributed throughout the region. In the southeastern part of the country, at Mount Al-Ṭubayq, rock carvings date from several prehistoric periods, the earliest of which have been attributed to the Paleolithic-Mesolithic era. The site at Tulaylāt al-Ghassūl in the Jordan Valley of a well-built village with painted plaster walls may represent transitional developments from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic period. The Early Bronze Age (c. 3000–2100 BC) is marked by deposits at the base of Dhībān. Although many sites have been found in the northern portion of the country, few have been excavated, and little evidence of settlement in this period is found south of Al-Shawbak. The region’s early Bronze Age culture was terminated by a nomadic invasion that destroyed the principal towns and villages, marking the end of an apparently peaceful period of development. Security was not reestablished until the Egyptians arrived after 1580 BC. It was once believed that the area was unoccupied from 1900 to 1300 BC, but a systematic archaeological survey has shown that the country had a settled population throughout the period. This was confirmed by the discovery of a small temple at Amman with Egyptian, Mycenaean, and Cypriot imported objects. Biblical associations Biblical accounts of the area, dating from the Middle Bronze Age onward, mention kingdoms such as Gilead in the north, Moab in central Jordan, and Midian in the south. At the time of the Exodus, the Israelites tried to pass through Edom in southern Jordan but were refused permission. They were at first repelled by the Amorites, whom they later defeated. The Israelite tribes of Gad and Reuben and half of the Manasseh group nonetheless settled in the conquered territory of the Ammonites, Amorites, and Bashan and rebuilt many of the towns they had partially destroyed. A record of this period is the Mesha (or Moabite) Stone found at Dhībān in 1868, now in the Louvre Museum in Paris. It is inscribed in an eastern form of Canaanite, closely akin to Hebrew. The next few centuries (1300–1000 BC) were marked by constant raiding from both sides of the Jordan River. David attacked and devastated Moab and Edom. Although held for a time, Ammon with its capital, Rabbath Ammon (modern Amman), regained independence on the death of David (c. 960 BC). Solomon had a port on the Gulf of Aqaba at Ezion-geber (modern Elat, Israel), where copper ore was smelted from mines in the Wadi al-ʿArabah and trade was carried on with the southern Arabian states. However, hostilities remained constant between Judah and Edom; a Hebrew king, Amaziah, even captured Sela (Petra), the capital. The next invaders were the Assyrians, who under Adadnirari III (811/810–783 BC) overran the eastern part of the country as far as Edom. Revolts against Assyrian rule occurred in the 760s and 750s, but the country was retaken in 734–733 by Tiglath-pileser III (reigned 745–727 BC), who then devastated Israel, sent its people into exile, and divided the country into provinces under Assyrian governors. This policy of direct rule continued until the fall of the Assyrian empire in 612 BC. The Assyrian texts are the first source to refer to the Nabataeans, who at this time occupied the land south and east of Edom (ancient Midian). After the fall of Assyria, the Moabites and Ammonites continued to raid Judah until the latter was conquered by the Neo-Babylonians under Nebuchadrezzar II. Little is known of the history of Jordan under the Neo-Babylonians and Persians, but during this period the Nabataeans infiltrated Edom and forced the Edomites into southern Palestine. It was not until the Hellenistic rule of the Seleucids and the Ptolemies that the country prospered, trade increased, and new towns were built. Rabbath Ammon was renamed Philadelphia, and Jarash became Antioch-on-the-Chrysorrhoas, or Gerasa. Hostilities between the Seleucids and Ptolemies enabled the Nabataeans to extend their kingdom northward and to increase their prosperity based on the caravan trade with Arabia and Syria. The northern part of Jordan was for a time in Jewish hands, and there were constant struggles between the Jewish Maccabees and the Seleucids. Most of the Dead Sea Scrolls date from this period. During 64–63 BC the kingdom of Nabataea was conquered by the Romans under Pompey, who restored the Hellenistic cities destroyed by the Jews and set up the Decapolis, a league of 10 ancient Greek cities. The country remained independent but paid imperial taxes. Roman policy seems to have been to maintain Nabataea as a buffer state against the desert tribes. In 25–24 BC it served as a starting point for Aelius Gallus’s ill-starred expedition in search of Arabia Felix. Nabataea was finally absorbed into the Roman Empire by Trajan in AD 106 as the province of Palaestina Tertia. Under Roman rule Jordan prospered, and many new towns and villages were established. The whole country, except the Decapolis, was made part of the new province called Arabia Petraea, with its capital first at Petra and later at Buṣrā al-Shām in Syria. After 313, Christianity became a recognized religion, and a large number of churches were built. The Latin kingdom and Muslim domination The area was devastated in the 6th and 7th centuries by the intermittent warfare between Byzantium and Sāsānian Persia. In 627 the emperor Heraclius finally defeated the Persians and reestablished order, but Byzantium, gravely weakened by the long struggle, was unable to face the unexpected menace of a new power that had arisen in Arabia. In 636 the Muslims—led by the famous “Sword of Islam,” Khālid ibn al-Walīd—destroyed a Byzantine army at the Battle of the Yarmūk River and brought the greater part of Syria and Palestine under Muslim rule. The caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty (660–750) established their capital at Damascus and built hunting lodges and palaces in the Jordanian desert. These can still be seen at sites such as Qaṣr ʿAmrah, Al-Kharānah, Al-Ṭūbah, and Qaṣr al-Mushattā. Many Roman forts were also rebuilt. After the ʿAbbāsids seized power in 750, the capital was transferred to Baghdad, and Syria, which had been the Umayyad metropolitan province, was severely repressed. Jordan, now distant from the centre of power, became a backwater and slowly returned to the old Bedouin way of life. With the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders in 1099, the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem was extended east of the Jordan, a principality known as Oultre Jourdain was established, and a capital was set up at Al-Karak. After the Crusaders retreated, the history of Jordan remained mostly uneventful. Not until the 16th century did it submit to Ottoman rule and become part of the vilāyet (province) of Damascus. In the 19th century the Ottomans settled Circassian, Caucasian, and other refugees in Jordan to protect their communications with Arabia; assisted by Germany, they completed in 1908 the Hejaz Railway linking Damascus and Medina. Transjordan, the Hāshimite Kingdom, and the Palestine war During World War I the Arabs joined the British against the Ottomans. In a revolt of 1916, in which they were assisted by Colonel T.E. Lawrence, the Arabs severed the Hejaz Railway. In July 1917 the army of Prince Fayṣal ibn Husayn (of the Hāshimite Hashemite dynasty) captured Al-ʿAqabah, and by October 1918 Amman and Damascus were in Allied hands. In 1920 the Conference of San Remo in Italy created two mandates; one, over Palestine, was given to Great Britain, and the other, over Syria, went to France. This act effectively separated the area now occupied by Israel and Jordan from that of Syria. In November 1920 ʿAbdullāh, Fayṣal’s brother, arrived in Maʿān (then part of the Hejaz) with 2,000 armed supporters intent on gathering together tribes to attack the French, who had forced Fayṣal to relinquish his newly founded kingdom in Syria. By April 1921, however, the British had decided that ʿAbdullāh would take over as ruler of what then became known as Transjordan. Effectively, Turkish rule in Transjordan was simply replaced by British rule. The mandate, confirmed by the League of Nations in July 1922, gave the British virtually a free hand in administering the territory. However, in September, the establishment of “a Jewish national home” was explicitly excluded from the mandate’s clauses, and it was made clear that the area would also be closed to Jewish immigration. On May 25, 1923, the British recognized Transjordan’s independence under the rule of Emir ʿAbdullāh, but, as outlined in a treaty as well as the constitution in 1928, matters of finance, military, and foreign affairs would remain in the hands of a British “resident.” Full independence was finally achieved after World War II by a treaty concluded in London on March 22, 1946, and ʿAbdullāh subsequently proclaimed himself king. A new constitution was promulgated, and in 1949 the name of the state was changed to the Hāshimite Kingdom of Jordan. Throughout the interwar years ʿAbdullāh had depended on British financial support. The British also assisted him in forming an elite force called the Arab Legion, comprising Bedouin troops but under the command of and trained by British officers, which was used to maintain and secure the allegiance of ʿAbdullāh’s Bedouin subjects. On May 15, 1948, the day after the Jewish Agency proclaimed the independent state of Israel and immediately following the British withdrawal from Palestine, Transjordan joined its Arab neighbours in the first Arab-Israeli war. The Arab Legion, commanded by Glubb Pasha (John Sir John Bagot Glubb), and Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese, and Iraqi troops entered Palestine. ʿAbdullāh’s primary purpose, which he had spelled out in secret discussions with Jewish envoys, was to extend his rule to include the area allotted to the Palestinian Arabs under the United Nations partition resolution of November 1947. Accordingly, he engaged his forces in the region of Palestine now popularly known as the West Bank (the area just west of the Jordan River) and expelled Jewish forces from East Jerusalem (the Old City). When the Jordan-Israel armistice was signed on April 3, 1949, the West Bank and East Jerusalem—an area of about 2,100 square miles (5,400 square km)—came under Jordanian rule, and almost half a million Palestinian Arabs joined the half million Transjordanians. One year later, Jordan formally annexed this territory. Israel and Britain had tacitly agreed to ʿAbdullāh keeping the area, but the Arab countries and most of the world opposed the king’s action; only Britain and Pakistan recognized the annexation. The incorporation into Jordan of the West Bank Palestinians and a large refugee population that was hostile to the Hāshimite regime brought severe economic and political consequences. On the other hand, ʿAbdullāh gained such Muslim shrines as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem’s Old City, which compensated for his father’s loss of Mecca and Medina to Ibn Saʿūd a generation earlier. ʿAbdullāh was assassinated at Al-Aqṣā Mosque in Jerusalem on July 20, 1951, by a young Palestinian frustrated by the king’s hostility toward Palestinian nationalism. In August 1952 the parliament declared ʿAbdullāh’s son and successor, Ṭalāl, mentally unfit to rule, and he abdicated in favour of his eldest son, Ḥussein ibn-Ṭalāl, who was crowned king on his 18th birthday, May 2, 1953. Organizations and Affiliations Jordan is an active member of the UN and several of its specialized and related agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and World Health Organization (WHO). Jordan is a member of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Non-Aligned Movement, and Arab League. Politics Government The 1952 constitution is the most recent of a series of legislative instruments that, both before and after independence, have increased executive responsibility. The constitution declares Jordan to be a constitutional, hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary form of government. Islam is the official religion, and Jordan is declared to be part of the Arab ummah (“nation”). The king remains the country’s ultimate authority and wields power over the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Jordan’s central government is headed by a prime minister appointed by the king, who also chooses the cabinet. According to the constitution, the appointments of both prime minister and cabinet are subject to parliamentary approval. The cabinet coordinates the work of the different departments and establishes general policy. Jordan’s constitution provides for a bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Ummah), with a Senate (Majlis al-Aʿyan) as its upper chamber, and a House of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwwāb) as its lower chamber. The aʿyan (“notables”) of the Senate are appointed by the king for four-year terms; elections for the nuwwāb (“deputies”) of the House of Representatives, scheduled at least every four years, frequently have been suspended. A small number of seats in the House of Representatives are reserved for Christians and Circassians. The ninth parliament, elected in 1965, was prorogued several times before being replaced in 1978 by the National Consultative Council, an appointed body with reduced power that debates government programs and activities. The parliament was reconvened, however, in a special session called in January 1984. Since then the parliament has been periodically suspended: from 1988, when Jordan severed its ties with the West Bank, until 1989 and from August until November 1993, when the country held its first multiparty elections since 1956. In 2001 the king dissolved the Majlis al-Nuwwāb to reformulate the electoral system; new deputies were elected in 2003. Local government Jordan is divided into 12 administrative muḥāfaẓāt (governorates), which in turn are divided into districts and subdistricts, each of which is headed by an official appointed by the minister of the interior. Cities and towns each have mayors and partially elected councils. Justice The judiciary is constitutionally independent, though judges are appointed and dismissed by royal irādah (“decree”) following a decision made by the Justices Council. There are three categories of courts. The first category consists of regular courts, including those of magistrates, courts of first instance, and courts of appeals and cassation in Amman, which hear appeals passed on from lower courts. The constitution also provides for the Diwān Khāṣṣ (Special Council), which interprets the laws and passes on their constitutionality. The second category consists of Sharīʿah (Islamic) courts and other religious courts for non-Muslims; these exercise jurisdiction over matters of personal status. The third category consists of special courts, such as land, government, property, municipal, tax, and customs courts. Political process Jordanians 18 years of age and older may vote. Political parties were banned before the elections in 1963, however. Between 1971 and 1976, when it was abolished, the Arab National Union (originally called the Jordanian National Union) was the only political organization allowed. Although not a political party, the transnational Muslim Brotherhood continued, with the tacit approval of the government, to engage in socially active functions, and it captured over one-fourth of the lower house in the 1989 election. In 1992 political parties were legalized—as long as they acknowledged the legitimacy of the monarchy. Since then, the brotherhood has maintained a significant minority presence in Jordanian politics through its political arm, the Islamic Action Front. Diplomacy Geography Jordan is generally a flat desert plateau, east and west, as the western edges of the Syrian and Ard As Sawwan deserts stretch across the land. In the west, the Great Rift Valley (high hills and mountains) separates the East and West Banks of the Jordan River. Significant bordering bodies of water include the Dead Sea, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Sea of Galilee. Relationships Family * Saudi Arabia - Uncle * Qatar - Cousin * Kuwait - Cousin * Yemen - Cousin * Bahrain - Cousin * Oman - Cousin * Sudan - Brother * Palestine - Brother/Sister * South Sudan - Brother/sister * Israel - Stepbrother * Iraq - Aunt/Uncle * Syria - Aunt/Uncle Friends * Israel * Palestine * United States * United Kingdom * Syria * South Korea * Russia * Palestine * Pakistan * Mexico * Malaysia * Lebanon * Kuwait * Kosovo * India * Vatican City * Greece * Egypt * Denmark * China * Chile * Brazil * Armenia * Brunei * Belize Neutral * Bahrain * Iraq * Kuwait * Oman * Qatar * Saudi Arabia * The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Enemies Opinions Trivia References ☀ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan ☀ https://es.verbling.com/articles/post/the-history-of-arabic-language ☀ https://www.britannica.com/place/Jordan/Jordan-under-King-Hussein Category:Country Category:Everything Category:Characters Category:Arabian countries Category:Islamic Countries Category:Asia Category:Kingdoms